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Always do your best……treat people well. When we have the capacity to treat people well, with thoughtfulness, with care, and with respect we know that we are spiritually sound and that our soul is strong. Mindfulness has allowed us to quiet our ego, so that we don’t see everything and everyone as competition. We have recognized the value of treating others with respect in all that we do, or ask them to do. Ego will suggest that he who stays in the arena longest, plays the hardest, pushes the most, wins. While in reality, all that, that reveals is that we are soul less, and unwilling or unable to be considerate of others. Ego has to win, and left to its own devices, ego will force that game onto everyone. We are wired for connection and the need to share and communicate with each other. For most of us, that means engaging with people in a way that allows them to be authentically present.

If we do not engage in our relationships with mutual respect, then we impose our beliefs, ideals, and concept of success, on each other disrespectfully, subjugating everyone around us to fit our interpretation of what is right. The school yard bully is no different when they grow up, left unchecked they continue to impose their will and their views on everyone they meet. The only rules are their rules, so there is no respect for the needs and wants of others. Moreover success is defined by how well others accept what they impose. So our responsibility to ourselves is to awaken, to become acutely aware of everything around us. To not allow ourselves to be bullied as adults. To extinguish the power of the adult bully by standing up to them and respectfully saying, this is not ok. Because the eternal truth is, we experience what we tolerate.

Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. said “Regardless of how many lectures we give to those around us, they will learn respect by observing how we treat them, others, and most importantly ourselves. Respect means that you honour the choices of another. You honour their yeses, and you honour their nos. Respect and unconditional love go hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other. To teach love and respect to others is to practice it every moment, in every encounter you have with another person, ask yourself, “Am I showing this person respect?” With awareness today, remember that your actions are your example to the world. Be the teacher of love and respect to all fellow beings by honouring them and their choices.”